- Mt. Gox has transferred 37,477 BTC worth $2.5 billion to an unknown wallet.
- The defunct exchange has now distributed over 40% of the cryptocurrencies owed to creditors.
- Bitstamp received 2,237 BTC, while another unknown wallet received 2,869 BTC.
- Mt. Gox still holds approximately 60% of the Bitcoin it plans to reimburse.
- Concerns about the impact on BTC prices have been raised but analysts suggest fears are overblown.
Mt. Gox, the defunct cryptocurrency exchange, has recently moved 37,477 Bitcoin to an unknown wallet address. This transfer, valued at approximately $2.5 billion, took place on July 24 at 4:53 am UTC.
According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, the recipient wallet, identified as “12G…u9u,” likely belongs to a centralized crypto exchange.
Following this major transfer, an additional 5,106 BTC was moved to two separate wallets.
Bitstamp, a known exchange, received 2,237 BTC valued at $147 million, whereas the remaining 2,869 BTC was sent to an unknown wallet identified by 1MzhW.
A Pattern of Transfers
Arkham Intelligence also recorded two small test transactions worth $0.36 and $1.33k BTC directed towards wallets linked to Bitstamp.
This pattern has been a consistent precursor to larger transfers from Mt. Gox. Given this trend, Bitstamp is expected to receive more funds in the near future.
Bitstamp has been selected as a trustee by Mt. Gox for the payout process. Just a day before the latest transfer, Mt. Gox transferred over $2.8 billion to multiple addresses.
Out of this, $340 million was directed towards a Bitstamp-tied wallet.
Specifically, Bitstamp received transfers of 1598 BTC ($106.3 million), 382.4 BTC ($25.4 million), 2239 BTC ($149.1 million), and 890.9 BTC ($59.3 million).
Other exchanges working with Mt.Gox include Kraken and SBI VC Trade. Several Kraken users confirmed receiving payments on July 23 on the social media platform Reddit. These funds were initially received by Kraken on July 16 and the exchange promised to distribute the funds within two weeks.
Progress in Repayment
As of the publication time, over 40% of the Bitcoin owed to Mt. Gox creditors has been distributed, according to CryptoQuant data.
This implies that 60%, or about $5.6 billion, is still pending distribution. Mt. Gox owes approximately $9 billion worth of Bitcoin to around 127,000 creditors, who have been waiting for over a decade to recover their funds after the exchange collapsed following a major security exploit in 2014.
It remains unclear when Bitbank, another exchange involved in the process, plans to commence the distribution of funds.
Currently, the exchange still holds $5.93 billion worth of Bitcoin, accounting for approximately 60% of the $9 billion it plans to reimburse its creditors.
Mt. Gox had initially announced plans to repay its creditors 142,000 BTC, 143,000 BCH, and ¥69 billion (approximately $432 million at the time) by June 2024. These plans were disclosed nearly a decade after the exchange collapsed.
Market Concerns and Analyst Opinions
The ongoing repayments have stirred concerns about potential selling pressure on Bitcoin prices.
Early in July, Bitcoin’s price dropped shortly after an initial transfer of 47k BTC. While some fear a mass sell-off event, several analysts believe these concerns are exaggerated.
Galaxy Digital’s head of research, Alex Thorne, stated that over half of the Bitcoin repaid to creditors is owed to various funds and will not hit the spot market directly.
He added that even the funds paid back directly to individual creditors are unlikely to be sold all at once.
Thorne emphasized that many Mt. Gox creditors are more “diamond-handed” than some might expect, indicating they are likely to hold onto their Bitcoin rather than sell immediately.
Conclusion
Mt. Gox continues to make significant strides in repaying its creditors, having distributed over 40% of the owed cryptocurrencies.
The latest large transfers to Bitstamp and unknown wallets mark progress in the repayment process. Concerns about the impact on Bitcoin prices persist, but expert opinions suggest the fears may be overblown.
As the repayment process unfolds, creditors and the broader cryptocurrency community will be watching closely.
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